


Life's Alright in Devil Town

by iamtheleftbrain



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Awkward Kissing, First Kiss, Happy Ending, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-20 21:40:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20682344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamtheleftbrain/pseuds/iamtheleftbrain
Summary: Straight children almost always have their first awkward kiss when they're in elementary. Gay kids coming of age experiences are a little stunted





	Life's Alright in Devil Town

**Author's Note:**

> Eddie Kaspbrak is Bisexual™ but he's also trying to figure out his situation with sexuality
> 
> !!!also i wrote this in my teaching assistant class because I'm oppressed and had just talked to my therapist about my dad's extreme homophobia so sorry for anything weird!!!

The space was still. Dust flowed around peacefully in the sunlight of high noon, the mice have retreated back into their hidey holes, the hammock had stopped swinging an hour ago, and the comic book pages were left discarded on the dirt floor. 

The only thing moving was the tiny belly breaths from the small pre-teen as he slept. Everything was calm.

Two perfectly tied tennis shoes started to climb carefully down the bunker ladder as the person who they were attached to cursed under their breath. 

The boy asleep wasn't disturbed by this sudden change of noise. 

Tennis shoes finally turned into another small pre-teen. The boy looked as if he the real version of Pinocchio. He took a very in-character hit of his inhaler when the dust hit his lungs. He surveyed the bunker, he didn't see anyone else.  _ They must have something to do after school _ , he thought. 

He opened the tub of shower caps and quickly put one on, paranoid thoughts overriding any other one he had. 

He picked up a stack of comic books he could probably read all the way through in an hour despite his mother saying he had dyslexia. 

He read up on dyslexia, but he didn't feel he had it. He saw words normally. They never jumbled or switched. It wasn't hard to read or understand. But he got extra time on tests because of his mother's fits, so he didn't mind. 

The boy took the comics to the hammock. Someone had donated blankets down here during the first week of fall and it seemed like they dumped them all on the hammock. There was a big lump that would be perfect to squish with his entire body weight. 

He put the comics on the ground and readied his footing. Before he could have the usual thoughts of "this is going to break'', "I could get hurt", etc. he jumped. 

The lump wasn't soft. 

And it screamed. 

_ oh, fuck,  _ Eddie thought. 

"Fuck!" The pile of blankets yelled. 

It was Richie. Eddie laughed as he wiggled under his unimpressive weight. 

Richie moved the blankets off of his face and glared at Eddie. His cheeks were glossy and he had small eye boogers forming in the corners of his eyes. Eddie's smile quickly faltered. 

"Are you okay?" The other boy asked. 

Richie disappeared under the blanket again. A muffled, "yeah," came after. 

"What are you doing?" Eddie asked. He shifted and got the blanket free from the tangled mess. He tucked himself in, and watched Richie from the darkness under the fabric. The other boy was trying not to cry, but it was a pathetic effort. His breathing became mildly convulsed. He made strained noises. Whimpers made their way out, and tears streamed down his face. He had his knees to his chest and his arms were trying feebly to cover his face.

Eddie grabbed the other's legs and pulled gently so Richie's feet were by his face. "You can't bunch up when you're crying. It'll make it harder to calm down." 

Richie didn't protest. 

"I think you're having a panic attack." Eddie said. He's had plenty, he should know. 

"Rich, can you look up?" 

Richie shook his head aggressively. 

"Okay. Can you breathe in for 7 seconds?" 

He tried, but failed. The small pre-teen became even more hysterical. 

"It's okay, Richie."

He tried again. Failed. Again. Again. 

"Hold in for 6 seconds once you do." 

He breathed in for 5 seconds, and held for 3. Again. 

"Breathe out for 5 seconds after." 

Richie did. 

"Keep going. Actually count though. I'll try to distract you. Okay?" Eddie said.

The other boy nodded his head. 

"Okay. Cool. Uh," He shuffled his files in his brain for something fun to talk about, "Bill is fucking insane, dude. He keeps kissing Beverly when he thinks no one's looking. It's totally vomit inducing."

Richie's legs pulled away from Eddie. He started breathing faster and faster.

Eddie held his legs in place. He wrapped his arms around them and rested his cheek on his socked, feet. Eddie patted his shins. 

Eddie got the hint, and waited for Richie to get into rhythm again. 

"School is kind of fun this year… so far. We have a bunch of classes together. The boring classes, too. Science, math, art, and p.e… I fucking hate p.e. It's so unnecessary. Why is there a class on running? I know how to run. I helped defeat a killer clown. They're making us redo the mile tomorrow, by the way. I think I'm gonna get a note.

I have a class with Stanley and Bill, too. Social Studies. I kind of like it."

Richie was quieter now, his breathing still a little out of sorts, but he was back to reality.

"I'd rather have all my classes with you. You're a lot fun-ner than those two. They only talk about girls and what girls are getting boobs."

Richie looked at him, or Eddie thought he looked at him. He was hard to tell, his face was still covered. 

"What's wrong with girls?" Richie asked.

Eddie shrugged. "I don't like girls like that. I don't think." 

"Like what?" 

"They're not cute or hot or whatever. Boobs are weird, too. Like actually gross." Eddie giggled.

"Then what do you like?" Richie unfolded his arm from his face. He watched the other intently. He was still huffing and puffing.

"I brought some comics over. Let's read them. Try to distract you a little more." Eddie popped out from under the blanket. Richie did the same a few seconds later. 

"Here." Eddie handed him a comic he knew Richie was reading from other day. 

…

"Are you okay now?" Eddie asked. They were laying shoulder to shoulder on the hammock rocking back and forth with the help of Richie's foot. The sun was setting outside, but neither of them seemed to mind.

"Yeah." Richie pretended to read the comic.

"Did I scare you that bad?" Eddie rested his head on Richie's shoulder. He usually hated physical contact, but Richie wasn't contaminated. "Is that why you had a panic attack?" 

"No. You scared the shit out of me, though. I was asleep." Richie admitted.

"Sorry. Why did you start freaking the fuck out?" 

Richie shrugged his shoulder that wasn't occupied.

"Do you like girls, Rich?" 

"Beverly is okay." Richie said. He knew what Eddie meant and they both knew it. "Your mom is pretty hot."

Eddie giggled and shoved Richie, who was giggling, too. "I meant like how Bill and Ben like Beverley. Like you want to kiss them." he wondered how he could phrase this. "Do you  _ like  _ like girls?"

They were silent again. 

"No." 

"Oh."

"Don't tell anyone. Please." Richie started to tear up again, but Eddie couldn't tell.

"What do you like?" Eddie knew he shouldn't press on, and Richie get upset again. But he wanted to know. 

"Your mom," He chuckled, but it wasn't very sincere. He didn't have the energy to banter. A tear fell down his cheek. "I asked you that earlier and you didn't answer."

"You know my mom's a girl, right?"

"She's  _ something.  _ I don't know about  _ girl _ ."

"Fuck you." 

"Fuck  _ you _ ."

Eddie sat up and faced Richie, who sat up, too.

"Why won't you tell me what you like?" Eddie asked. Fear fueled the words more than anger did.

"Because." Richie gripped the glossy comic in his hand.

"I won't tell anyone!"

"How do I know that!?" 

"I never told anyone  _ anything _ you told me before!" Eddie threw his hands in the air. "What about the time you pissed your pants? I never told! Or- or that you accidentally stole that keychain! Or-"

"I don't need more examples of me being a dumbass, dumbass!"

"I'll never tell anyone!"

"This is more…" Richie took a second. "Weird!" 

Eddie softened, "Why?" 

They were both silent. Silence is so uncommon between these two, they never really experienced it before today.

Leaves played in the wind outside of the bunker, some falling into the opening. The two boys watched their own hands fiddle with draw strings and fanny packs.. 

"I think… I think I like boys." Eddie said. 

"Like… you  _ like  _ boys? You want to suck face with them and shit?" 

Eddie wouldn't look at him, but Richie watched him like a hawk.

Eddie said, "Yeah. I mean not  _ all  _ boys. Just, like, the cute ones." 

"Can boys be cute?" Richie asked. He knew the answer. A cute boy was in front of him after all. He's been cute forever- or since he'd known him, which felt like forever.

"I think so," Eddie whispered, "Now you have to tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"What you like, fuckass. I told you." 

"Well, I don't like girls, but I have to like some gender." He couldn't say it. He didn't want to say it. 

"You like boys, too." Eddie said. He wouldn't say he  _ knew  _ it all along, but he  _ wanted  _ it..

"...Yeah." 

"Do you have a crush?" Eddie asked. He'd been wanting to talk like the other boys did about girls. Honestly, though, he was afraid of the answer. 

Richie's hair was grown out, and his weird type of curly hair fell in front of his eyes as he looked down. He had an oversized jacket that was lazily zipped up. His thick framed glasses fell down the bridge of his nose. Eddie thought Richie was cute. 

"Yeah."

"Really?" Eddie put his hands on Richie's knees. "Who?" He hoped it was him.

"It's a secret." Richie was frozen.

"Pussy. Uhm, have you ever kissed a boy?" 

"No."

"Do you want to?" Eddie wanted him to want to. Eddie wanted him to want to kiss him. Eddie wanted to kiss him.

"Yeah."

"Me too."

"Okay…"

Eddie, with his hands still on Richie's knees, made a bold choice. Something he thought he would never be able to ask. Something that made him the bravest person in Derry at that one moment. "Do you want to kiss me?"

Richie didn't say anything.

"Because you can. For practice."

"What about germs?"

"Uhm." Eddie hadn't thought that far. He just wanted to kiss him already. "Are you sick?"

"No." Richie resisted the urge to sniffle.

Silence.

Richie started, "Eddie-"

Eddie, in pubescent panic and euphoria, leaned forward and pressed his lips on Richie's cheek. 

"Oh, shit…" Richie breathed. His heart was racing, his palms were pools of anxiety, and his mind was overflowing with Eddie, Eddie, Eddie. Who was smiling uncontrollably with his small fingers touching his, now, experienced lips. 

"That was wicked," He said, "Can I kiss you again?" He was willing to beg for just one small peck on the mouth. Maybe he'll catch a cold, but it was worth it. The fucking bubonic plague was worth kissing Richie.

"Uh, s-sure," His hand was on his cheek.

Richie never moved from his spot. He was a statue waiting to be awakened by a small boy's kiss. 

The atmosphere was safe. The club house was hidden from everybody. They were safe. They can be themselves. They can like boys down here, kiss boys down here, talk about  _ boys  _ for God's sake. 

Everybody's harsh words and sharp punches were wiped away when Eddie gently put a hand over Richie's cheeks. 

His fears were resolved when Eddie slammed his eyelids shut like he had just gotten to the climax of a rollercoaster and saw immediate death, and only had a seatbelt protecting him. 

Richie's dirt smudged, fingernail bitten, waterlogged pubescent hands were planted on the other boy's thighs as he was pulled closer. 

The rest of Derry, America, the world, the god damn universe didn't exist or matter when their lips met. 

Their noses hit as they tried to get comfortable, their teeth hit one another, their jaws locked. It was nothing but an elementary school kiss. 

Most boys had this experience with a girl behind a slide at the age of 5.

_ He's going to be a lady's man. _

_ Girl's are gonna eat him up. _

_ He's kissed 5 girls already. _

It was a coming of age event that these two boys were just now getting.  _ Oh, we were missing out _ , they thought. 

When the broke off from each other they couldn't stop smiling.

…

"Richie, I did it! I kill It!" Eddie grabbed at Richie's shirt in pure excitement. He was proud of himself and Richie never felt more in love. 

"I told you, Eduardo," Richie started to cry. "You're brave. You're fucking braver than all of us."

He saw one more smile before Eddie's eyes shut aggressively and his face fell towards his.

Their lips joined in an important, love filled, adrenaline based kiss. It was more mature than the one they shared as teens, but just as important. 

Their hands found each other's arms, hair, face and shirt. They held on tight while the others in the background handled It's creepy decrepit body that the two would definitely be making jokes about later. 

The two couldn't care less about anything but each other. 

They were safe. 

They would be okay.

They could like boys.

Eddie broke the kiss and smiled his awkward, big toothed smile. 

In a state of shock and adoration Richie could only say one thing, "That was like kissing your mom." 

"Fuck you. I taught you have to kiss." 


End file.
